Author: Bridget Grumet

Today the American-Statesman’s editorial board joined hundreds of newspapers around the country in standing up for the importance of a free press, particularly as President Donald Trump continues his dangerous rhetoric against journalists. While Trump’s cries of “fake news” ring hollow against the well-sourced reporting about his administration, however, there’s no denying the media sometimes suffers from a troubling credibility gap with the public.

Too often after a mass shooting, we reach the sickening discovery that the gunman never should have had a weapon to begin with.

The man who killed 26 people at a Sutherland Springs church had a military court domestic violence conviction that should have barred him from buying a gun, except the computer database hadn’t been updated with his information.

I know it’s a popular sport to joke about the passionate level of civic engagement at Austin City Hall, especially when ideas get bandied between advisory groups for months on end and City Council meetings run till 3 a.m.

But we should cheer for the smart, inquisitive people who make the time to attend public meetings, read up on various proposals and ask tough questions, especially when taxpayer dollars are …

Financially speaking, it’s the biggest unknown in the proposal for a Major League Soccer stadium site at McKalla Place: How much property tax revenue would the city forfeit if the stadium was kept off the tax rolls?

Michael J. Gaudini, a policy advisor with Council Member Leslie Pool’s office, fired up Excel and calculated some reasonable estimates that provide some scale to the debate, with some caveats I’ll explain in a …